Physician migration to the U.S.--foreign aid for U.S. manpower

Data were obtained from the American Medical Association on Iranian physicians practicing in the U.S., and from the Iranian Medical Registry on U.S.-trained Iranian physicians who have returned to practice in Iran. There were 2,066 Iranian physicians practicing in the U.S. in 1972, 1,234 (60%) of whom were not undergoing any training. Only 600 of Iran's 9,535 physicians in 1972 had been trained in the United States. Thus, less than one-third of the specialists who have completed training in the U.S. have returned to practice in Iran. The specialist group with the highest rate of return is the combined surgery subspecialties (neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, and plastic surgery). The specialist groups with the lowest rates of return were pathology, anesthesiology, and psychiatry. A comparison is made of the manpower problems Iran faces and the American problems in the area of physician manpower.